This list was written by BandLadder's authors, Fizza Butool Zaidi and Ali Zaidi. The meanings and example sentences are our own, not taken from model answers or dictionaries.

12 words

Writing Task 2 vocabulary

Formal and neutral items that suit an essay. They work in Speaking too.

sedentary lifestyle
A way of life with very little physical activity.
A sedentary lifestyle, often caused by desk-based work, is a major factor in weight gain among adults.
physical activity
Any movement of the body that uses energy, from walking to competitive sport.
Health authorities recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week.
participate in sport
To take part in sport, usually regularly.
Children who participate in sport at school are more likely to stay active as adults.
grassroots sport
Sport played at a local, amateur level rather than professionally.
Funding for grassroots sport is tiny compared with the sums spent on professional leagues.
elite athletes
Competitors at the very highest level of a sport.
Many governments fund elite athletes because international success can raise national morale.
competitive spirit
The wish to win and to do better than others.
Team games foster a competitive spirit, but they also teach pupils to lose gracefully.
sporting facilities
Buildings and grounds used for sport, such as pools, pitches and gyms.
Many rural areas still lack basic sporting facilities such as a public swimming pool.
obesity rates
The proportion of a population that is seriously overweight.
Rising obesity rates have pushed several governments to promote walking and cycling.
a sense of camaraderie
Friendship and trust among people who do something together.
Playing in a team builds a sense of camaraderie that few classroom activities can match.
performance-enhancing drugs
Substances taken, usually illegally, to improve sporting results.
The use of performance-enhancing drugs undermines public trust in professional sport.
spectator sport
A sport that many people watch rather than play.
Football remains the most popular spectator sport in much of the world.
physical education
The school subject that teaches sport and exercise.
Some schools have reduced physical education to make room for examination subjects.
Usually shortened to PE in speech; write it in full in an essay.

Use sport and fitness vocabulary in a Task 2 essay

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10 phrases

Speaking vocabulary

Natural spoken English for Parts 1 to 3. Items noted as informal or as an idiom belong in Speaking only, never in Task 2.

keep fit
To stay healthy and strong by exercising regularly.
I go swimming twice a week, mainly to keep fit.
work out
To do physical exercise, usually at a gym.
I try to work out before work, because by the evening I'm too tired.
get into shape
To become physically fit after a period of not being fit.
I started running last spring to get into shape for a charity race.
take up
To start doing a new sport or hobby.
I'd love to take up tennis when I have a bit more free time.
out of breath
Breathing quickly and with difficulty after effort.
After the first kilometre I was completely out of breath.
a keen supporter
An enthusiastic fan of a team.
My dad has been a keen supporter of our local football club for forty years.
warm up
To do gentle exercise to prepare the body before sport.
Our coach makes us warm up properly before every match.
pull a muscle
To injure a muscle by stretching it too far.
It's easy to pull a muscle if you skip stretching.
a gym membership
A paid arrangement that lets you use a gym.
I've had a gym membership for years, but honestly I rarely use it.
couch potato
Someone who spends a lot of time sitting and watching television.
At weekends I turn into a bit of a couch potato.
Informal: fine in Speaking, never in Task 2.

Speaking Part 3

Use it in an answer

Why do many adults stop doing sport?

I think the main reason is time. Once people start full-time work, they slip into a fairly sedentary lifestyle, and after a long day it's much easier to be a couch potato than to work out. There's also a confidence issue: if you haven't played for years, you're out of breath after ten minutes and that's a bit embarrassing. Cheaper sporting facilities and evening leagues for beginners would probably help a lot of people take up a sport again.

Written by our authors to show the vocabulary in use; not an official IELTS sample.

Lexical Resource

How examiners judge this vocabulary

Vocabulary is scored as Lexical Resource, one quarter of your Writing and Speaking marks. At the higher bands the public IELTS band descriptors for Speaking mention “less common and idiomatic vocabulary”, together with awareness of style and collocation. In practice that means the right item in the right register: ‘sedentary lifestyle’ in an essay, ‘keep fit’ when you speak. Accuracy comes first; a misused advanced word costs more than a plain one used well.

Practise in context

Sport and fitness questions to practise

Frequently asked questions

Is it 'sport' or 'sports' in British English?+

Use 'sport' for the activity in general ('I don't do much sport') and 'sports' for several kinds or in compounds ('winter sports', 'a sports centre'). American English uses 'sports' for both, and either is accepted in IELTS if you are consistent.

Which sport questions come up in IELTS?+

Part 1 often asks whether you like sport or which sports are popular in your country. Part 2 cards ask about a sport you do for fitness or a live event you watched, and Task 2 asks about exercise, health and whether governments should fund sport.

Can I use the Speaking phrases in Writing Task 2?+

Not the informal ones. Phrasal verbs and idioms such as 'couch potato' sound natural in Speaking but are too casual for an essay, and Task 2 should have no contractions. Everything in the Writing list works in both papers.

Will learning these words raise my IELTS band?+

Not on their own, and no word list guarantees a band. Lexical Resource rewards vocabulary used precisely and naturally, so five items you can use correctly are worth more than twenty forced into an answer. Learn each one with its example, then write or say a sentence of your own.

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IELTS vocabulary for sport and fitness